Overrun
by Kosa Twilight
Summary: Thanks to Orion, this world is not as it should have been. Megatron and some others become Autobots. Unicron chooses his own Prime, Stargazer, who takes over the Decepticons. Earth knows the truth. MECH is still prominent. Not everyone will survive this escalation and brutal struggle for not only the survival of their species but their reality.
1. Chapter 1: Lost

Orion Pax was lost.

This was not the first time he had gotten lost somewhere, but it was the first time that he was lost whilst on a warship. He wasn't sure how he managed to get lost, but he did and if he asked for directions, he was ignored. He wasn't sure as to why nobody wanted to talk to him, but Orion didn't push the matter. Maybe a majority of them were mute? If that was so, he was going to be polite and leave them alone.

Orion then heard yelling. Curiously, the mech walked towards the source of the sound. He was worried that someone was hurt and needed help. He looked into a cracked door and saw the red medic that had changed his emblem a few hours prior. He was looking at the floor under him and was clearly the one being yelled at. Orion wasn't sure why anyone would yell at the mech. He was the only one on the ship with a medical degree. Maybe it was an upset customer?

"I cannot believe you!" Yelled a strange whose faceplate covered the console screen. He was a very dark purple with a dark silver faceplate and red optics, the right one possessing an axe scar. He was a little bit familiar when Orion thought about it. After a few moments, he put a name to the face. Offroad, a legendary Charioteer. Chariot racing was a bloody sport where it was average for at least three mechs to die per race. And he was usually the one who caused those deaths, a violent and despicable spawn of a glitch. "I have bent myself backwards keeping your worthless hide alive, and this is how I'm repaid? More medical nonsense. If I wanted a medic, I should've shagged a nurse."

"It's kind of hard to race when you're in a warzone," the red medic said. It was more of a grumble and he refused to look up from the ground. Orion understood that pose as he often took it when _he_ was talking to him. "We need medics, more now than ever. If you pulled your helm out of your afterburner, maybe you'd see that!"

"Don't you dare raise your voice at me, Three!" The red med tensed up at Offroad's infuriated tone. "You are lucky I'm not there, because if I was, I would beat you so hard your paint would chip off. It's a disgusting colour and it's filthy." That wasn't true, Orion could clearly see that the mech took great care with his appearance. Offroad didn't seem to see that, or more likely, didn't care. "I'm going to come down and deal with you myself. Clearly, your re-training hasn't worked as well as I had been promised... Blasted handlers. If you want something done right, you do it yourself."

And with that, the call ended.

Orion's spark went out the medic who kicked the console. Coolant was brimming in his optics and was desperately trying to keep control of himself. Orion quickly understood what Offroad was talking about and he was appalled. The red medic was a Pedibred, a racer type.

Pedibreding was a sick and twisted practice that the Council refused to outlaw for no other reason than the fact it put credits in their storage compartments. All the sire and carrier cared about was producing a successor that would be a champion of whatever brought the two parents together, ignoring the fact that it was torture for the youngling. The way they were programmed made the purpose they were bred acted like a drug to them. If they went too long without, they'd get withdrawal symptoms. And if they did it too much, it'd corrupt their sanity until they could only care about that one thing.

Which, horrifically, was very much desired.

The large mech slowly walked into the medical bay. He found the entire practice to be revolting and he wished that the Council would have attempted to bring attention to how dangerous it was. Some, like Stormwire and Soundwave, was able to get dampeners when they were very young but not everyone was as lucky. Dampening had been invented by Ratchet and Black Frequency, and those two were revered for it. Even when the Council threatened their lives, the two refused to stop helping those who were suffering. That fact made it impossible for Ratchet to have been the one that killed Cybertron.

And because he 'dealt' anyone who tried.

"What do you want?" Spat the medic.

"I want to know that you're alright." Orion looked at the screen where Offroad had been and then towards the red medic. "That mech, he's your sire, isn't he?" The silent glare was enough of an answer. "Well, he's wrong."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're a Racer Pedibred, but you're a doctor. That's incredible. I've never really been good at much besides coding and organising, so it's a little inspiring to see that you've gone into such a difficult and complicated field of work." Orion sat down on the large berth in the room and patted a spot next to him. The medic looked very confused and severely anxious about the situation. Maybe it was because he was smaller than Orion? "It sounds a little crazy, but talking about your problems and venting them onto someone willing to listen can lessen the weight on your struts."

"What are you, my therapist?"

"No, but I have my audio receptors tuned to you."

Knockout was extremely uncomfortable with the position he was in. Nobody was supposed to know that his waste of CNA of a sire contacted him regularly and they weren't supposed to see that it had any effect on him. To see Big Rigs, a mech that Knockout had stupidly attempted to fight once to get that Data Cylinder, trying to comfort him was very... Bizarre. He knew that Big Rigs had amnesia, but those blue optics were so innocent and inviting that it felt like it was more than that. Like Big Rigs and this guy were separate entities.

"I-Well, I'm a Pedibred, like you said. A racer. I'm one of five, which is why _he_ called me Three. My carrier and Offroad met and made a contract to produce four younglings. Two Charioteers for him and two Volocitrons for my carrier. It didn't go as planned." Why was he talking? He shouldn't be saying anything! Damn those blue optics to the pit! "Motordash, Speedway, myself, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were the results. Only Motordash had what Offroad was looking for, and my carrier had grown attached to us other four. She got us dampeners and because she happened to be a bit of a star, the Council granted her custody of us. I, obviously, wanted to be a doctor. My sire didn't like that. Nor did he like that he didn't get the two he was 'obliged' to own. So, he took me."

In truth, Knockout never really wanted to be on the side he was on. He was born a little while after the war had begun and his carrier wanted her sons to be Autobots like herself. He'd always toyed with the idea of turning coat, but it was his fear of his sire that kept him where he was. Offroad tried to remove his dampener but it didn't work, and the only thing keeping him from terminating Knockout was the fact that he'd been transferred to another galaxy. And here, he was very well protected. Medics were always in short supply and most Decepticon medics were just scientists thrown into that position. That meant he got security like Breakdown with him at all times.

He had talked to his bonded, Breakdown, about turning coat sometimes during their long drives. But Breakdown was very against that idea. He had changed sides after suffering an immense betrayal that fueled his loathing for the Autobots. Knockout understood his feelings and understood why he was against them. Breakdown refused to be on the Nemesis because of Big Rigs' presence, leaving Knockout a little on his own. He understood why, but it still annoyed him.

"I was taken when I was little as well," Orion said. "My carrier and sire didn't want me. I was a mistake, but the area they lived in didn't condone termination and they wanted to keep their reputation pristine. They loved my elder brother so much that they named him Ultra Magnus, and barely called me a number, usually just 'that one' or 'small one'. One day, I was walking home after being sent on an errand - I'm not sure what it was for, probably supplies or stationary. Then, a large femme took me. My parents had paid her to take me away, then got given a lot of credits over their "loss"."

"I wish my sire did that with me. Though the downside is that I wouldn't have my sparkmate, so it's a wish bet unfulfilled, I suppose."

"If not for their lack of care for me, I wouldn't have found my brothers and sister. Stormwire especially... I know I wouldn't be here without him."

Orion remembered the day very clearly when he met his real family.

The femme who bought him was dragging him through the 'mine' of Miridion, claiming that he was a waste and wasn't worth what she paid for. She was going to not only kill him but make an example out of him to the others. He had kicked a large mech in the faceplate causing his optic to pop out, and he had every right to do so. The femme's side-business of _his_ mine was to sell the bodies of younglings to perverted glitches like Magnablue. She felt like she had lost a reliable customer, so she was very angry.

He remembered it very vividly, from where the three suns were to the hard stone grinding against his back as she dragged him by the arm. She threw him on the ground and aimed a blaster at his helm, intending to end his short life. And then Orion met Stormwire.

Even though he was roughly around 5 or so, that mechling ran right to her, swiped the blaster from her servos and shot her in the optic. He didn't know who Orion was, but he'd saved his life. Not only did Stormwire save Orion's life, but Stormwire gave Orion his name. Through Stormwire, Orion met Soundwave, Blitzraid, Firefox. And through them, he met Thundercracker, SKywarp, Starscream, Ratchet, Black Frequency, Shockwave, Arial and Wingwraith - all of whom becoming a massive family in one way or another. He and Stormwire were particularly close...

Which made him very worried with his two brothers and how strange they were behaving.

"Hello?"

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about how we first met. Stormwire saved my life in Miridion, and I never really thanked him for it..."

"Stormwire?"

"Megatronnus is just a name he took while in the arena, he said that someone called Closecall mentioned it, but nothing more than that," Orion sighed, waving a servo like it wasn't much of a big deal. "Oh, I haven't asked your name! I'm so sorry."

"Knockout."

"Knockout. It's a good name." The medic wasn't sure how to react to that little bit of information. Lord Megatron's name was really Stormwire, and they met in a slave mine - everyone knew something about the Miridion slave mines - while they were younglings. He'd always believed that Soundwave and 'Stormwire' met in the Arena, that he didn't have a name before taking one and so on. Obviously, there were some gaps in history. "Is there something you'd like to do to make you feel better? Personally, I watch the stars or take a warm oil bath."

"I like music if that's what you mean."

"Then let's listen to some music. If you like it, it's probably good."

As Knockout watched the much larger mech, a thought slowly crept into his processor. Even when a bot had amnesia, they'd still retain some mannerisms or body language. It was akin to what humans call 'muscle memory'. But Orion had none of what Big Rigs had. His tone, his posture, everything was uniquely him. The thought was that maybe, just maybe, this was more than simple amnesia in one of those poorly written movies or one-off episodes of some show. It was like like Orion and Big Rigs were two separate bots. It was easy to lie to the Leader of the Autobots, but to this mech who had no knowledge of the past several aeons of war, it felt... wrong. Like Knockout was lying to a child.

He was just some guy who happened to have been close to Megatron before the war. When he took the Matrix of Leadership, something must've changed. Something drastic enough that when the Matrix was drained, it left nothing but Orion. Like a parasite leaving the body. Knockout was going to have to test this idea, and listening to some Queen or David Bowie might be able to help him out with that.

"Oh, it is. You seem to be a Queen kind of mech to me. While you're listening to it, I'll have a check through your systems. Think of it as a freebie for being understanding about my... familial situation." Knockout got up and waited for the mech to lay down. Usually, he'd have to argue for hours to get somebody to quit being a pain in the aft, but no, Orion was completely trusting and cooperative. It made him feel like a more competent physician. The racer put his playlist on random and Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer came on. It wasn't David Bowie, but it was still fine music.

"What's that sound?" Cybertron didn't have instruments like the guitar. Their music was more electronic and dubstep compared to the large variety of Earth had. Being the music expert he was, Knockout knew everyone's preference. Breakdown had a thing for Bon Jovi, the band that was currently playing, Soundwave liked Three Days Grace alongside Beethoven, Knockout liked almost everything and even 'Stormwire' had a preference. He hadn't expected Skillet of all things but he wasn't one to judge.

Starscream was a sourpuss and refused to indulge in the joys of music, but Knockout knew he'd be a Beatles bot.

"That's a guitar. There are a plethora of instruments on this planet, and a large number of the population can sing." Cybertronians were capable of singing, but only a very tiny percentage. Knockout, to his knowledge, was the only mech with that skill. It wasn't very useful in battle nor did it help him in his profession, but Breakdown enjoyed it. He couldn't sing, but he'd always join in for the fun of it. It was just one of the things that they did together and it was one of the many thousand reasons he loved that big blue idiot. "They're quite the artistic species. From music to weaponry."

And medicine.

Knockout had been researching how the human body worked, and it was extremely complex. While they were fragile compared to Cybertronians, humans were pretty durable when it came to the hazards of their homeworld. They had a lot more diseases and some very creative ways to combat them. Knockout had started implementing their techniques into his own work, though he had to adapt much of it. Their species had quite a different anatomy despite the quaint similarities. Brushing that part aside, he was very much fascinated by what the fleas of Unicron had managed to develop.

"I like it."

Orion wasn't worried about being scanned. He'd gotten over his fear of medics thanks to Ratchet. He had a bit of a temper sometimes but he meant well. Most of the time... He did some things that made the idea of him being an overlord very understandable. Thinking about the medic made him question the fate of Cybertron. Ratchet might have had enough shade in his past to envelope a sun, but he wouldn't have done something like destroy Cybertron. He wouldn't do that to any world, let alone their homeworld. Maybe it was a very bad joke of Stormwire's. He and Ratchet never got along, and the latter was almost always the instigator for whatever reason.

"I'm glad you do."

He liked Knockout. He liked this 'music' as well. When one song ended, another began, and Knockout would tell him the name of the artist. Simon and Garfunkel, Bon Jovi, Bob Dylan, Elvis, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Bonnie Tyler, and there were a couple of others that he found to be enjoyable. The red racer commented that modern music was nothing like the old days, and Orion took his word for it. The David one sounded a little like Stormwire when he used to sing to him. His optics closed as he drifted into a memory he cherished dearly.

_It was a very, very violent storm. The screeches and bellows of the blackish purple clouds above drowned everything in darkness, frightening the young mech. The pitter-patter of acidic rain hitting the acid-resistant windows providing little comfort. The only light he could see outside was from the red and pink lightning that sizzled and struck the metallic ground like it was trying to punch its way to the core. He hated storms. It was a silly fear, he already knew that, but Orion was frightened by a lot of things. He was ashamed of that. He wanted to be brave, but as with everything, he failed._

_There was an agonising wail and a brilliant flash of scarlet took the mech by surprise. He knew it was stupid to be peering through the window of his room, knew it was dumb to watch the lightning dance across the sky. He stumbled back and fell off his berth, crashing to the floor with his coverings draping over his frame. Even though it scared him, Orion wouldn't deny that it wasn't beautiful. It truly was like a dance of pure power, like the jagged flashes of light held swords and spears and were battling each other. Like neon paint splattering against a black canvas._

_There was another crash, and this time, Orion could feel the vibrations of a lighting strike under his pedes and rear. It had struck far too close for Orion's liking and he shifted under his berth, wishing for it to go away. Or at least mute itself. It'd be slightly less scary if not for the thunderous roars that shook the ground below._

_His helm perked when he heard his door open with that amusing whoosh. He could tell who it was from the weight of the pedesteps. A smile spread across his faceplate as his brother got down on his knees and peered under the berth with a smile._

_"Did the thunder scare you again?" Orion nodded. Two cerulean optics rolled as he moved out of the way, giving Orion space to get out. Even though he was only 11, Stormwire had the frame of an adult. A side effect of being a Gladiatorial Pedibred. It was a little difficult sometimes, but Orion knew that Storm didn't care. The larger mech grabbed the covering and threw it over himself, turning himself into a tent of sorts. "I'll shield ya."_

_"I know you will," Orion smiled as he hugged his brother, already being soothed by the sound of his spark beat. The grip tightened when there was another __caterwaul emanating from outside. Orion knew he could hold on as tightly as he wanted to and it wouldn't be able to affect Stormwire in the slightest. A strength he envied considerably. "I must look pathetic, hugging you like some toy."_

_"I can't say," Stormwire joked. "It's one of the benefits of being blind, Orio. I know you don't look pathetic, you're just hugging your bro during a pretty bad storm. Nothin' wrong with that." There was another whoosh from the door and the covering lifted up. Orion looked at Soundwave, the mech's silverly indigo optics glowing as brightly as Stormwire's. "You too, huh?"_

_Now that Soundwave had joined them, the 'tent' had a far less deflated form. Orion always felt safer when his brothers were with him. Even though he wasn't related like they were, he'd learned that CNA didn't determine your family. A gift only these two idiots could give. They were younglings in the frames of adults, and he frowned a little. Even though it was really scary, they'd never be able to see the battle of light taking place far above them. Blindness was a genetic defect of Gladiatorial Pedibreds, similar to how ADHD was for Racers and OCD was for Builders._

_After a few moments, two more joined in. A femme who was just slightly younger than Orion being bright blue with the pattern of fire on her and orange optics and a mech next to her; he was dark blue with white and gold lightning all over his paint job. They were Firefox and Blitzraid, both of them adding to this little fortress with their own coverings and pillows. It was starting to become a fortress of some kind._

_Orion looked at the largest of the five as he started whistling a familiar and soothing tune. The song that put to rest all of their worries and helped them recharge when they were afraid._

Look to the soft and misty skies

the moon is full and wind is blowing

now please love don't you close your eyes

I see your fear is growing

you do not have to be afraid

darling please be brave

there's nothing out there quite like me don't you see?

_Ravage nudged the 'tent' up with his snout and clambered into Soundwave's lap, eager to hear the seldom heard talent of Storm's. The minicon purred in tune and his red optics shined with relaxation. Orion twisted himself around so his back was against Stormwire's chassis, and could feel the hum of his engine as the lullaby went on._

Not every monster's scary

sometimes they are on your side

I'll leave the bad ones wary

I'll gnash and bite, they'll run and hide

_Soundwave shifted so he was leaning against Blitzraid, and Ravage did so as well, his small helm resting on Firefox's lap, his purr tickling her thigh a little bit._

You don't have to fear the dead

you've tamed the monster underneath your bed

You don't have to fear the night

'cause I'll be watching you 'til morning light

_The chorus of screams and tears of light continued outside, but it was like the song was keeping it away. Orion knew that was nonsense, but it was a comforting feeling. One that he treasured in the scary world they called home._

The forest's mellow and the

stars are clear the night is full of wonder

should any creature threaten you

I'll tear them all asunder

you do not have to wake in fear

'cause darling I am here

Just put your hand inside of mine

We'll be fine

_Orion's hand gripped Stormwire's and wrapped it over him like another covering. Ravage nuzzled his helm against the large silver servo, his purring yet to cease being in perfect alignment with Stormwire's song. Soundwave was drifting off, the anxiety brought on by the thunder slowly ebbing away._

Not every monster's scary

sometimes they are on your side

I'll leave the bad ones wary

I'll gnash and bite, they'll run and hide

you don't have to fear the dead

you've tamed the monster underneath your bed

You don't have to fear the night

'cause I'll be watching you 'til morning light

_Orion was starting to drift into recharge as well. Though the tempest outside had yet to lessen in ferocity, his own Storm was protecting him. Maybe it was pathetic to have his baby brother look after him like this, but at this very moment, Orion didn't care. Neither did Soundwave or the feline minicon whose purr was starting to quiet down as he too drifted towards slumber._

Even the darkest of nights end in sunlight

so I'll do my best with the rest

you know we'll be alright

_It was starting to get dark, but it was the welcoming kind. The orchestra of terror was just background noise now, all he could really focus on was the rise and fall of Storm's chassis as he took deep intakes and outtakes._

I'll do my best with the rest

so hush now close your eyes...

_"I'll always be there for you, Orio..." was the last thing Orion heard before slipping into a well-needed recharge._

Knockout didn't know what he was looking at. During the scan, Orion had drifted off into recharge, and that was probably for the best.

As Knockout believed that Orion Pax and Big Rigs were two separate mechs, he used the X-R1 scan. The X-R1 was designed to check the damage caused by viruses or, thanks to the Quintessons, invasive parasites and/or slave codes. It would show a bar chart or a pie chart, and it would tell the doctor how much of the mech or femme was a Cybertronian or was the result of whatever required an X-R1 scan.

For example, say Breakdown killed Starscream - if only - and he claimed that his actions were not his own. The X-R1 would determine if it had been a virus or parasite that had taken control of his mind or if Breakdown just got sick of the stilettoed pain in the aft.

That was a poor example, mainly because nobody would try and pass on the opportunity to frag Starscream and nobody would let a parasite take the credit for such a satisfying accomplishment. The parasite would probably be allowed to take Starscream's place as a thank you gift.

Usually, you would see two separate pieces of a chart. Knockout always went for a bar chart, and it was good that he had done so. Otherwise, he may have missed something he hadn't thought possible. Instead of there being two pieces, there was three.

41.5% was Orion Pax, 58% was Big Rigs, and the 0.5% was a 'parasite' of unknown origin. Thankfully, the parasite was dead. And its death was what made the divide between Orion and Big Rigs possible. From what he could read, the parasite tried to corrupt and warp Orion's memory files, but the processor was a masterpiece that should never be meddled with. In an attempt to save Orion from this intruder, the processor made a copy of Orion's memory files and locked them away so when the parasite was gone, it could replace the corrupted or damaged files.

He bet the human brain couldn't do something as awesome as that.

The parasite was only inside of Orion's frame for barely twenty-two earth hours, which was barely anything on Cybertron. While it was in the process of fulling taking control of Orion, it was met with a very violent surge of electricity that would have fried a normal bot to embers. This surge must have tricked the processor into believing that the parasite was still alive. It'd only allow Orion's to the surface once the parasite had been exterminated.

Knockout's optics widened at the mere possibility.

Orion's memories, the undamaged ones, surfaced after the Matrix of Leadership was drained of all of its power. That meant that either the Matrix was the parasite, or it had a parasite living inside of it. Maybe not all of the Quintessons' crawlies had been documented and destroyed. Perhaps one survived by escaping into the core of Cybertron, surviving by feeding on the energy of the Matrix until it met the electric chair.

"Uhh... Megatron? You're going to want to come to sickbay. I've discovered something that will either make you happy or make you want to murder me."

Knowing Knockout's luck, it was probably going to be the latter.

* * *

That song is by Madam Macabre and is called 'The Monster Underneath Your Bed'. I highly suggest listening to it. I've had this song stuck in my head for weeks!


	2. Chapter 2: All Because of a Bug

Soundwave wasn't sure what he was feeling.

On the outside, he could have been mistaken for very strange furniture, but on the inside, it was like a match had been thrown on a tank of gasoline. It was strange as he usually had near Shockwave levels of control over his emotions. Not since the day that Soundwave had his voice box damaged had he felt such a flurry beneath the protective metal of his chassis. It frightened him, and that meant he was losing control over himself.

***"I thought he was gone."*** Laserbeak's voice usually calmed him, but he doubted anything could. Laserbeak managed to find a way to join the telepathic link Soundwave shared with his brother and his cousin, Shockwave. There was once a time when the link wasn't just between himself, his minicons, Stormwire and Shockwave. It included Black Frequency, Broadcast, Elita, Ultra Magnus, Ratchet, Blitzraid, Firefox and Orion. The last three were dead. Or, so he had believed.

According to Knockout's findings, Orion was still alive.

***"I believed the same."*** He hadn't been there when Optimus made his first appearance, but Soundwave wished he had.

It was when the war between the blasted Autobots and Decepticons was beginning to escalate and was showing the first signs that it wasn't going to be a short war like many had hoped and believed it would be. The Decepticons were fighting for freedom and liberation from the Council, and they retaliated by creating the Autobots, a faction whose sole purpose was to destroy the Decepticons and restore the status quo.

Orion had gone to Cybertron's core to try and find out what was wrong with it. Shockwave, Stormwire, Firefox and Blitzraid were waiting for him to return so that the first two could send them to an off-world neutral settlement as they didn't want to be part of the escalating battle. He returned as a Prime. Rightfully, they had been confused as to how this had happened. Stormwire, at first, had thought it was a stranger. He'd only recently had the optic implants Shockwave made which turned his optics red, so he didn't know it was their brother.

Firefox had gone to see what was up, and that was a mistake that proved fatal. With a sword that should not have been integrated with his frame, the Prime penetrated her chassis, not only killing her but her unborn sparkling. The shock of what'd just happened froze Stormwire as if he'd gone into stasis, and Blitzraid had attacked in grief and rage. The Prime stabbed him as well, but Blitzraid electrocuted him until the Prime let go and backed off.

Shockwave and Stormwire went after him but were stopped by Autobots. In the beginning, they didn't have much of a reason to dislike the Autobots. They were just a faction being controlled by the Council. That changed the moment Prime came into being. It was what sparked Stormwire's absolute loathing for the Autobots, and it grew even further after the rest of their family took Prime's side and accused Stormwire of being the one who killed Firefox and Blitzraid.

Much to Soundwave's regret, he had been one of them. Not killing them himself, per se, but not saving them. The last words he ever said to his brother before deactivating his voicebox all those aeons ago were very unkind, and Soundwave didn't really know how to take them back. With this news, he felt a sudden urge to find a way to.

According to Knockout's findings, the true killer had long since perished.

"I'm not sure how this parasite came to be. I've scanned the Matrix, but it didn't originate from there. It doesn't match the Quintessons technology, nor does it match the known technological capabilities of other species that aren't fans of us." Knockout couldn't read the expression that his lord was wearing, and he had a strong feeling that Soundwave would be wearing the same if not for the visor. "The only thing remotely close to it was the Trioloscarver, an ancient nasty that hijacked Predacons. If one somehow survived The Great Cataclysm, it would've had to have been placed in the Matrix by someone with the ability to preserve it."

***"That sounds like Alchemist Prime's work."*** Megatron agreed with Laserbeak. It did sound like something Alchemist would do. The mech didn't have any care for those around him, not even his brethren. He had decapitated Liege Maximo and, from what he had learned from Alpha Trion, tried experimenting with the parts that didn't get put into the tomb. Since only his arm was placed in that tomb, Alchemist got away with most of it. Megatron wouldn't be surprised if Alchemist had something to do with _his_ ability to control others through speech.

And for the news he had been given, There were no words to describe what Megatron was feeling. The mech that he had come to loathe for taking Firefox and Blitzraid was innocent. An impossible innocent. It complicated everything. It was easy to lie to a Prime with amnesia, but not Orion, the real one. He'd made a promise to him, and Kaonians took their promises to the grave. (Yes, he was sired in Tarn, but he spent the best years of his youth in Kaon. To him, that was home).

"Is there a way to fix the damage it left behind?"

"Possibly, my liege." Knockout didn't want to make any promises. He liked Orion and wanted to help him, but there was a chance that any meddling could make it worse. "The small amount of space the parasite took appears to be keeping the two separate halves from becoming whole. If we removed that, maybe they would fuse. Ideally, the memory files that are corrupted or downright missing would be replaced by Orion's. Since this has never happened before, everything could crash for all I know."

It was infuriating to learn that the cause of their family being ripped apart was a prehistoric bug. And Megatron doubted that Ratchet didn't know about this. He probably knew about the truth, but stayed quiet. The Lord never really knew what side that medic was truly on. He thought the medic had put his old days behind him, but the introduction of Synth-En proved that he was just as much of an aft as when he was younger. He even indulged in his hobby of burning things, such as the poor miner, Epsilon.

Almost nobody knew who that medic really was. They only knew about Ratchet the field medic, but for whatever reason, they didn't ask about who he was before the war. Megatron doubted the Autobots even knew he used to be a Decepticon and a pretty bad one. Megatron learned a lot from that medic, including how to use fear to control others. During the occupation of the Quintessons, he was part of a mobster group that was very similar to Earth's yakuza.

Maybe the medic was trying to find a way to undo the damage? It was possible. Again, Megatron was never sure what side Ratchet was really on. He did tell them were Alpha Trion and Ratbat were hiding when he was supposedly an 'Autobot'. Though they seldom agreed on much, they both shared a common loathing for the Councilmen. Magnus was even nice enough to put some rookie with Alpha to make it easier for his Decepticons. That was the only nice thing Magnus ever did for him, the bootleg.

***"Maybe the cortical psychic patch? Your cousin said that it had vast possibilities."***

***"I-"***

***"He did say that. He also said that there was a high chance of the processor being fried if it wasn't used properly. And even then, it had the possibility of corrupting memory files. It wasn't intended to be used on allies, but on enemies,"*** Megatron replied to Laserbeak's suggestion.

Soundwave was a little annoyed that he had been interrupted between the two. As he had broken the bond between the two in a fit, he wasn't able to mentally communicate with his brother, but his little Laserbeak could. He only knew what his brother said from her reactions. It was more than annoying, actually, it was infuriating sometimes.

"Would it crash if we went slowly?"

"That would relieve any stress it could put on the processor, but this could take months. I doubt the Autobots are going to be twiddling their digits whilst the memory files are being restored." Knockout looked at Orion. Usually, it was Breakdown who took naps in his sickbay, but unlike Orion, he couldn't sleep on his back. Though he hid it well, he was still terrified of what happened to him. If not Breakdown, it was a Vehicon husk or someone near death. Nobody liked being in sickbay, not even his Lord. "I could begin now, but I'm still uncertain."

***"They are going to be using Vector Sigma, right?"*** Lazerbeak began. ***"They will try to reboot or repower the Matrix. We can use that. We can leave a virus of our own, so when the Matrix is repowered, it removes that pesky blockage. Prime and Pax will fuse and become one while surrounded by those that Prime deems as 'friends'. Once he remembers all that's missing, we can find a way to end the war this parasite escalated."*** While it could backfire, Megatron decided that they should go with Lazerbeak's idea. Perhaps they could even end the war that shouldn't have gone as far as it had. ***"If you talk to him, you could destroy the Council's final attempt at winning."***

When Knockout was told of Lazerbeak's idea, he wasn't sure what he should think. It could definitely work, and if Big Rigs got unwell, Ratchet could deal with it. He was more experienced with Big Rigs and thus, could handle any problems more efficiently. It was still very risky. He made a point that since the parasite had been in the Matrix, it was possible that Vector Sigma might be affected as well. They'd have to make an extra virus to attack it, which would also take time.

"You and Soundwave can develop the viruses. In the meantime, I'll talk with Orion." He looked at Soundwave. The mech had been almost completely still during the discovery and the conversation, but he could feel otherwise. Soundwave's emotions were threatening to leave his control, he could tell through what remained of the mental link and by Soundwave's posture. It was the little things that only family or very close friends noticed.

When they were gone, he relaxed his frame, like taking a grave weight from his struts. While he knew it wasn't Prime before him, he couldn't help but feel a sliver of rage. While he had been with Orion for a long time, he didn't remember what he looked like before the transformation. The reason for that was a fact that barely anybody was aware of. To his knowledge, only those in his family circle new. Well, Knockout knew, but he was Megatron's physician, it made sense for him to know.

The fact was that he had been born blind.

It was a very, very common side effect of Gladiatorial Pedibreds. Only 3% were capable of seeing, Soundwave being one of the 3%, and even then, their vision was very poor. Megatron and Soundwave were fortunate that their sire, Sparkwreckage, had sonar-like echolocation ability, which they inherited. Shockwave had developed strange implants that allowed him to 'see' everything like blueprints. He could see all the details of the room as white lines on black, and thanks to many upgrades, he was able to identify symbols as writing, math and so on. But he'd just gotten them barely a week before Orion turned into Prime.

It was hard to think of his brother and this frame as the same. Orion was short, two-foot shorter than Knockout, who was pretty small already. When Orion decided he wanted a hug, his helm never went higher than just under where Megatron's insignia was. Prime was ten foot taller than what Orion had been. Even though it wasn't Orion's fault, he could only see Prime. If not for his size, it wouldn't have been so easy to lie to him.

As if the older mech knew what was to happen, Orion started to come out of recharge.

Orion awoke to see Knockout was gone. He wanted to apologise for falling into recharge, it was quite rude after Knockout had been such a nice host. He looked at his brother who appeared to be uncomfortable. The red optics would take some getting used to, but Shockwave said that it was just an unintended side effect. If it meant that Storm could see better, he was fine with it. He loved his brother, and nothing would ever change that.

"Hey, where did Knockout go?" Orion watched as Stormwire handed him a datapad. He looked at it and didn't understand what he was looking at. It looked impossible. It was an XR-1 scan of someone's processor. It was fascinating, actually. There had been a very few cases of split personality, but nothing like this. To him, removing the 0.5% should fix the issue. It was like a boulder was in a river, causing it to split. If the boulder was removed, the river would once again be one. There could be damage done in the process, but it should be fine. "Wow. This is pretty cool. Who is this?"

"Knockout took it while you were recharging." Orion tensed up. "Do you remember when you went to the core? When you wanted to heal the planet from whatever infected it?" The other mech nodded. "You were given the Matrix of Leadership, and transformed into a Prime. But someone, likely Alchemist, infected it with a parasite we've identified as a Trioloscarver." Orion knew what that was. He remembered reading about them while sorting data into the correct files. "It was obviously the Council's work. If a Prime stood by my side, their Autobots would've abandoned them. It took control, and it went on a mission to either kill me or Shockwave. Instead..." He wasn't sure how to word it.

"What did I do?"

"_IT_ killed Firefox. And Blitzraid as well, but he killed the Trioloscarver via electrocution. Somehow, the death of the parasite and the surge of electricity made what is in your servos possible. You were locked away, and Optimus was created. He took over the Autobots, and we've been battling ever since. He believes that I was the one who took Firefox and Blitzraid, and only now have I learned that neither of us was at fault." He was still angry that Prime was dumb enough to eject the AllSpark to Primus knew where in space. What in the pits of Kaon made him think that was a good idea?

Orion hadn't said anything, and he didn't blame him. What could you say to that information? Being told that you were possessed and killed your family, your godchild. It could shatter the strongest of Cybertronians. Orion seldom showed anger, but he expressed himself by throwing the datapad against the wall, a bit too close to hitting the Decepticon Leader. While his vision was limited, he knew all too well what rage-induced sorrow looked like. Orion appeared close to leaking coolant from his optics, and this left Megatron in an awkward position.

Many millennia ago, he would've comforted his brother. But he just couldn't get past the frame. The most he could do was put a servo on Orion's pauldron, and even that was very difficult for him. Orion could feel his discomfort, he could probably see it. A Decepticon called Wingwraith commented that Megatron was very expressive, so all Orion needed to do was look at him. Which he was currently doing, and it was even more difficult.

"You've lied to me." Somehow, those four words hurt more than a Spacebridge blowing up in Megatron's faceplate.

"I lied to who I perceived as Optimus. Ratchet didn't destroy Cybertron, though he did help me take care of the culprit, Halogen. The Autobots are on the losing side, and we're close to claiming a planet to rebuild what we've lost. Perhaps you can help with that. Or not. It depends on the results of the plan to repair you."

"What plan would that be?"

Orion had a sharp dagger of betrayal in his spark. He couldn't entirely blame his brother for lying to what he saw as an enemy, but it still hurt. After all that they had gone through, it felt like this creature had tarnished it. He could see how uncomfortable Storm was with the situation. In the past, Storm had no issue showing affection, in his unique way of course. The creation of this alter-self had damaged it, possibly beyond repair. Though there was a semblance of his old self, judging by the somewhat pained look he gave in reaction to Orion's earlier comment.

Though it was much easier to do it with family members, you could form mental links with those that didn't share the same CNA. The link between them had been destroyed a long time ago, and it was lonely not feeling their presence. He couldn't feel anybody, like the Trioloscarver had dissolved every connection he had while it tried to take over his mind. It likely did that to prevent any mental support or resistance.

He wanted to be able to talk to Storm like they used to, but it would take a long time to rebuild that bridge. If Storm was even willing to do so.

"I have Soundwave and Knockout working on a virus that will, over time, allow the two halves to merge. And they're going to make another in order to prevent the Autobots from re-introducing it to you." Orion's helm tilted. The Decepticon Lord didn't like talking like this. It felt unnatural, alien. "They're using the Key from Vector Sigma. I'm unsure if they'll get past the enormous cornucopia of Scraplets, but if they do, the first place they're going to come in here. And... we're planning on letting them."

"What? Why?" Orion felt that dagger dig deeper. "I just got back from Primus knows how long, and you're just going to hand me over to those strangers?"

"They're going to be recharging the Matrix within your spark, and the virus prevents the creature from taking you over again. Optimus will be in control, and that is when the second will begin its work. Ratchet will be there to monitor you and Prime will be around 'friends'. In the end, you'll be whole again. And... I'm not sure what will happen afterwards. Maybe nothing will change? Maybe all goes back to how it has been for aeons. That will be your decision."

"Can I... Have some moments on my own?"

There wasn't another word said before Stormwire left. The sickbay was suddenly much larger than it had previously been, and it was suffocating.

He was overwhelmed with anger, grief, and a whole multitude of emotions he couldn't identify. It was a nebula, a cluster of so many things that he couldn't tell what was what. He was biting on his denta so hard it ached, warm coolant was rushing from his optics and he was fighting not to break something. His spark was beating rapidly, and he hated all of it. It was just too much to properly process.

What can he possibly say to what he was told? On his servos was the energon of his siblings. Even though they weren't related, that didn't matter. He had taken their lives and the life of little Vulpineshock. It didn't matter what Stormwire said, he had still done it. And even though his brother and this Optimus being had been warring for aeons, Storm was still going out of his way to help him. Not all of his brother had been lost to this war, but Orion could tell that he was close to it.

The way he held himself, his tone, the way he looked at others and the other minor details only family could notice. He looked like he was ready to kill anyone that was in his way, much like he was when they finally got him back from Zeta's vile Kaon Arena. It was Orion's duty as the elder of the two to take care of him, but as always, it was the other way around. Stormwire always carried their family. Even though he wasn't able to see for the entirety of his youth, Storm still did better than him. It shouldn't be that way.

This war, the entire point was to overthrow the Council and issue in a new age. They had created pyrite, fool's gold. But Orion's allies wanted to make one where everyone was equal, where there was no caste system and no Pedibreding. No slavery, no mobster gangs created instead of police forces. The Council were likely dead by now, as was there planet.

As horrific as that fact was, it meant that they could make their own world. A fresh start. Maybe they could even find a way to move the Well of AllSparks? Orion did have the Matrix of Leadership in his spark, that must be able to help in some way. They could settle somewhere and built the world that they had always talked about, even as younglings. It would be hard, but it would make the fruits of their labour even sweeter.

Somewhere in Orion's spark, he just knew that the Decepticons wouldn't disband. Maybe it was from Optimus? He wasn't sure. If that feeling was true, then perhaps Orion could convince Storm to come with him? Orion would fix the problems with the Autobots as he would technically be their leader by the time Soundwave and Knockout's work was finished. He would make it how they always talked about, and Stormwire could be with him. There would be issues, but he could work through them. They would work through them.

The council wouldn't succeed in permanently tearing their family apart.


End file.
